I hear Americans speaking of "terrorist sympathizers", and "Un-Americanism". Beware. Not too long ago the great peoples of a great and storied history thought the same thoughts. That their country was going down the tubes. That the moral fiber was being eroded by a select group or groups. They were different, funny-looking even. They didn't fit into the mold of what it was to be one of that country. This has become known as "mob-mentality". The same thing that so emboldened a group of young Latino men in NYC not too long ago. Beware. When I write the word "propaganda" I get visions of numerous examples from history. The one that comes to the forefront is that of the Nazis. And yes it was Germany in the late 30's that I was writing about at first. Who ever reads this essay must think long and hard, and without prejudices. I'm a student of history, and even I don't know of a quarter of the evils my country has committed. When one thinks about our country we must bear in mind our place in this world. It is not our responsibility to shine the light of freedom and democracy, for we don't practice it ourselves. It is not unpatriotic to dissent. This was one of our founding principles. It is also not unpatriotic to make fun of our President. He's a man, just like I am. He would bleed just like I would if stabbed. Take his rights away, and he would protest just like I would. We must BEWARE of the mob mentality when we consider our country, and its' place in the world, and that of history. It is every citizen's duty and priveledge to speak out against injustice, wether it happens to the Jew, the Muslim, the gay, the black. It is the mob mentality of humanity to which I belong, and the only to which I would die for. Justifying hatred is as old as hatred itself. "It's not natural, Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve, they're just niggers, fucking Kikes." These are all things I've heard come from the mouths of otherwise rational people. Hatred is hatred. It cannot hide for long. I ask you the reader to consider before you speak, consider before you act. I ask you the reader to join humanity. Not America, not the KKK, not Jihad, or a crusade. But humanity. Forget the divisions that claim some are like and some are not. Each of us is different, even twins are different, and recognizing this is the key fundamental principle of being an American... to me.
RW